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lierdumoaMargo's musical episode.
Margo deserved a way better backstory than she was given.
First they establish that her first sexual experience was transactional -- exchanging a hand-job for a car ride. Then they go on to say that she thinks of that experience "every time I'm working a guy" -- essentially implying that Margo views ALL the sex she has with men as transactional. And then someone calls her a whore
And I don't want the above paragraph to be misinterpreted as a criticism of sex workers.
Obviously the sex work industry suffers corruption/exploitation/abuse issues (which are compounded by the fact that sex work is criminalized, making it virtually impossible for sex workers to unionize), but those issues arise from the fact that our misogynist society devalues and stigmatizes sex work -- not from the work itself. The entertainment industry has the same issues for the same reasons, and I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with being an entertainer either.
The problem I want to highlight is the show's failure to differentiate between sex and sex work.
This episode trivializes and devalues sex workers, by equating sex with sex work.
This episode perpetuates compulsory heterosexuality, by telling us that Margo views sex as a service she performs, instead of an activity she enjoys. The episode implies that it's NORMAL for male-attracted women like Margo to view all sex as inherently transactional.
The episode perpetuates rape culture, by implying that even an empowered woman like Margo prioritizes men's pleasure over her own during sex.
The worst part is that all of these toxic messages are couched in a narrative that claims to promote women's liberation and girl power.
And all the really toxic misconceptions about women's sexuality are further reinforced by the toxic heterosexual romances the show decided to force on us over the course of the season.
I already discussed those a bit in my previous meta post -- the Margo/Josh romantic arc that begins with Margo servicing Josh out of pity (tumblr user dumdeeedum added some worthwhile commentary on that relationship), and the Penny23/Julia romantic arc, which begins with Penny23 creepily inserting himself into Julia's life over and over again, and continues with him doing her favors "just to be nice" until finally he stockholms her into fucking him.
I thought the writers would have learned their lesson about forcing female characters into dubiously consensual and non-consensual sexual situations after the backlash from season 1, but nah.
They even gave Zelda! A child prostitution backstory! It was so completely unnecessary. It wasn't enough that she was homeless — they had to add in a line about how her rescuer found her "on her knees in an alley."
I was willing to handwave a lot of bullshit, because I liked what they were doing with Fen and Kady, and because I foolishly trusted them to fulfill the promise they made in 1x05 of legitimizing and providing meaningful resolution to the Quentin/Eliot relationship.
In hindsight, it's painfully obvious that the aforementioned promise was merely a red herring surrounded by red flags.
Fuck this show. Fuck everyone responsible for this bullshit season.
And I don't want the above paragraph to be misinterpreted as a criticism of sex workers.
Obviously the sex work industry suffers corruption/exploitation/abuse issues (which are compounded by the fact that sex work is criminalized, making it virtually impossible for sex workers to unionize), but those issues arise from the fact that our misogynist society devalues and stigmatizes sex work -- not from the work itself. The entertainment industry has the same issues for the same reasons, and I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with being an entertainer either.
The problem I want to highlight is the show's failure to differentiate between sex and sex work.
This episode trivializes and devalues sex workers, by equating sex with sex work.
This episode perpetuates compulsory heterosexuality, by telling us that Margo views sex as a service she performs, instead of an activity she enjoys. The episode implies that it's NORMAL for male-attracted women like Margo to view all sex as inherently transactional.
The episode perpetuates rape culture, by implying that even an empowered woman like Margo prioritizes men's pleasure over her own during sex.
The worst part is that all of these toxic messages are couched in a narrative that claims to promote women's liberation and girl power.
And all the really toxic misconceptions about women's sexuality are further reinforced by the toxic heterosexual romances the show decided to force on us over the course of the season.
I already discussed those a bit in my previous meta post -- the Margo/Josh romantic arc that begins with Margo servicing Josh out of pity (tumblr user dumdeeedum added some worthwhile commentary on that relationship), and the Penny23/Julia romantic arc, which begins with Penny23 creepily inserting himself into Julia's life over and over again, and continues with him doing her favors "just to be nice" until finally he stockholms her into fucking him.
I thought the writers would have learned their lesson about forcing female characters into dubiously consensual and non-consensual sexual situations after the backlash from season 1, but nah.
They even gave Zelda! A child prostitution backstory! It was so completely unnecessary. It wasn't enough that she was homeless — they had to add in a line about how her rescuer found her "on her knees in an alley."
I was willing to handwave a lot of bullshit, because I liked what they were doing with Fen and Kady, and because I foolishly trusted them to fulfill the promise they made in 1x05 of legitimizing and providing meaningful resolution to the Quentin/Eliot relationship.
In hindsight, it's painfully obvious that the aforementioned promise was merely a red herring surrounded by red flags.
Fuck this show. Fuck everyone responsible for this bullshit season.
no subject
Date: 2019-04-21 08:08 pm (UTC)I don't mind in this case, because Major Character Death always gets my goat and always requires a warning for me anyway, but could you cut-tag your posts in the future? For other shows I'd be pissed.
no subject
Date: 2019-04-22 02:17 am (UTC)